Industry leader Graycor Construction Company’s satellite office of less than one year in San Jose is managing a pipeline of projects where the company is engaged in excess of $100 million worth of preconstruction and construction activity in Northern California including: Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, the Great Mall in Milpitas, Northridge Mall in Salinas and Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON Theatres in Mountain View, Santa Clara and Laguna Beach. The Bay area is home to a quickly growing team of new and long-tenured Graycor project management and supervision professionals.

“Retail owners are under tremendous pressure to keep their properties updated as ‘destinations’ that offer the kind of personal experience that online shopping does not. Unfortunately, few – if any – owners have the luxury of closing during these renovations,” said Tim Hanifin, Vice President and General Manager of Graycor Construction Company. “Maintaining a safe, accessible, attractive and profitable retail center during construction is a complex task, but companies with the ability to deliver that outcome have an acute advantage in what has become a very competitive retail market.”

Dating back to the company’s inception more than 95 years ago, Graycor’s Live Environment work methodology is being applied at each of its Northern California renovation projects – all three of which are in high-density, high-demand locations:

Westfield Valley Fair, Santa Clara, California (Westfield Corporation), where Graycor is building 110,000 square feet of new retail space as part of a major repositioning plan that will expand the shopping destination to 2.2 million square feet and add a Bloomingdale’s department store and movie theatre. Graycor is performing demolition, sitework and core shell construction for a two-level mall expansion, along with the interior build-out of the Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON Theatre.

Great Mall, Milpitas, California (Simon Property Group), where Graycor is performing the renovation of the largest indoor outlet mall in Northern California. Improvements to modernize the property include new mall entrances, food court, interior and exterior wayfinding signage, flooring, ceiling features, lighting and two modern infinity fountain water features to replace the mall’s original fountain.

Northridge Mall, Salinas, California (Starwood Retail Partners), where Graycor is redeveloping 90,000 square feet of retail space. The project will transform the former JC Penney into a two-story Center Court atrium to serve as a seamless link to major anchor retailers including Macy’s and Sears, add space for 12 to 15 new in-line retail tenants and restaurants and convert the second floor into retail shell space. The project also includes construction of an exterior entrance at the new Center Court, interior mall access to the new JCPenney’s, a set of brand new restrooms, remodel of existing restrooms and new flooring throughout the mall.

“Live Environment boils down to asking the right questions early, ensuring that we understand the sophisticated needs and objectives of our clients, and identifying what needs to happen to exceed those expectations,” said Brian Feckler, Construction Manager of Graycor Construction Company. “What is the optimal time for work to be performed to minimize disruption? What housekeeping measures will maintain the highest level of safety and appeal to the facility? Are alternative walkways, custom fencing or other temporary changes needed to conceal construction staging? These are just some of the ways we encourage coordination and communication long before construction begins, so that we know what to purchase, schedule or execute as we pull off a seamless renovation. Our Live Environment approach can be and has been successfully applied to a variety project types including shopping centers, retail, hospitality and industrial.”

Graycor boasts a strong presence in California’s retail and hospitality markets, over the past 10 years completing construction projects such as the Chico Mall in Chico, Crate & Barrel stores at University Town Center in San Diego and Roseville, AMC Dine-in Theatre at Marina 6 in Marina Del Rey, San Francisco Marriott Marquis and Anaheim Marriott. In the industrial sector, Graycor has completed the ALDI Regional Headquarters and Distribution Center in Moreno Valley, FedEx Ground Sorting and Distribution Centers in Rialto and Fresno, Toyota NUMMI Facility in Fremont and DDG 553, a 553,000-square-foot, three-building development in Fresno County.